Since 1970, transuranic waste material generated in the United States by the Department of Energy Operations has been packaged in unvented, 55-gallon steel drums, which drums have been stored with the intention of future retrieval. It is intended that the material in these drums will be disposed of permanently in the Department of Energy Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIIP) Facility. Currently, there are safety concerns regarding these stored drums because of the potential presence of combustible headspace gases. These gases can include hydrogen and methane, resulting from the radiolytic decomposition of hydrogenous waste materials, e.g. paper, plastics and moist materials and/or from the presence of small amounts of combustible volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are co-contaminants of transuranic waste. Future transportation and storage of these wastes stored in drums such as 55-gallon drums must address what is to be done about these gases.
The WIPP facility has waste acceptance criteria that requires that all packages stored must be vented. Moreover, those packages which are to be shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant must be vented and demonstrated to meet combustible gas concentration limits before shipping.
In addition, it is necessary that these drums retain their integrity during shipment in case the drums are accidentally dropped or are involved in a road or railway accident during shipment. Since there are millions of these drums, it is assumed that there will be accidents or occurrences that may stress the drums and increase the risk of spills or leaks. It is therefore important that any sampling ports or filter ports not be dislodged so as compromise the integrity of the drums.
Moreover, since the drums must be sampled and filtered, it is desirable that the sampling and application of filters be performed in an expeditious and safe manner.